The Effect of Different Doses of Mesobuthus eupeus (Scorpionida: Buthidae) Scorpion Venom on the Production of Liver Necrosis in Nmri Mice

Abstract

Background: Scorpion venom has a variety of different components considerably. Some of these compounds are pro­teins such as Phospholipase A2 which is one of the most important. Use of scorpion venom for the treatment of any disease requires an initial study to determine the therapeutic dose or safe dose. Therefore, due to the necessity of study­ing scorpion venom, it is of special importance to study the effects of its dose response in animal tissues. Methods: To determine the inflammatory effects of scorpion’s venom (Mesobuthus eupeus), 50 Nmri mice with an average weight of 24±7g were selected for investigation in two experiments. In first-round 25 of them were divided into 5 groups and were exposed to different doses of venom injection paralleling the control group. Single-injection of vari­ous doses on 25 mice was performed and results were compared. Results: There was a significant differences between the test and control groups (in most groups). Liver necrosis was one of the important symptoms in this study, the severity of which was measured and statistically analyzed. Conclusion: It was determined that 0.05ppm is a safe dose and sub-lethal doses can use for the investigation of thera­peutic effects of venom on cancer, diabetes, dermatitis, and so on.

Keywords

• dose-response; liver necrosis; nmri mice; scorpion’s venom